The M60 is a belt-fed 7.62mm general-purpose machine gun first adopted by the US military in 1957. Having seen the GPMG concept proven by the German MG42, the US decided to develop their own to replace the aging Browning Automatic Rifle as a squad automatic weapon and the Browning M1919 in the medium machine gun role. Seeking a more mobile weapon without the MG42's fearsome rate of fire (the design requirements specified the weapon should be fireable from the shoulder like the BAR), Saco Defense's winning design was based on an FG 42 paratroop rifle converted to belt feed using an MG42 receiver cover called the T44.

The weapon was noted for performance issues in Vietnam, though often well-regarded by troops; like the early M16 versions, it was prone to fouling and mechanical issues in the harsh jungle environment. Perhaps the most criticised feature was that the weapon mounted the barrel, gas regulator, bipod and front sight as a single inseparable group with no handle, making barrel changes difficult (requiring the use of an easy-to-lose asbestos glove) and increasing the weight of spares. The weapon aged poorly and by the 80s there were complaints regarding runaway fire and worn pins resulting in guns literally falling apart: the fact that the entire trigger group is only secured with a single pin certainly did not help with this.

The M60 was partially replaced in the SAW role in the US Army by the M249 SAW in the 1980s and in the GPMG role by the M240 in 1995, but is still employed as a door gun on helicopters and enhanced versions used by a number of US military branches and other militaries. Fully-automatic M60s were available on the civilian market in the US prior to the passage of the Hughes Amendment which outlawed new production, and some companies produce semi-automatic clones.

M60 machine gun with bipod extended - 7.62x51mm NATO

M60 machine gun with bipod folded - 7.62x51mm NATO

The M60 machine gun and variants can be seen in the following films, television series, video games, and anime used by the following actors:

Video Games

M60C Machine Gun

M60C machine gun - 7.62x51mm NATO

Aircraft-mounted stockless variant with an electronic firing control and hydraulic cocking mechanism, used on US helicopter external mounts in the 60s and 70s, often as part of the M-6E3 Weapons System.

Video Games

M60E3 Machine Gun

Lightweight version developed in the mid-eighties for the US Marine Corps and adopted in 1986 to replace their stocks of original production M60s, using a bipod mounted to the handguard rather than the barrel and fitted with a front pistol grip. The decreased weight led to decreased reliability and heating problems, and the E3 was largely replaced in service by the M240.

(As a side-note, the M60E1 was a version with the bipod mount moved to the handguard which never entered production, while E2 was a coaxial version with no furnishings or stock and a lengthened gas tube used on the M48A5 and M60 Patton tanks (replacing the alarmingly awful M73 machine gun) and the South Korean K1 MBT)

M60E3 machine gun with short barrel as seen in Commando - 7.62x51mm NATO